Archive for August, 2011

Hanging out with foodies is a good thing. You get to bask in a camaraderie of cuisine and take pictures of your plate with impunity. And sometimes you get free cake. On our recent foodie field trip to Eastern Seaboard we met Caryna of Caryna’s Cakes. In the chitchat over our calamari and pig’s cheek,… Continue reading »

Years ago, an American friend of my parents used to make this exotic creation and I absolutely loved it. It was long before zucchinis (or courgettes as we know them on this side of the pond) were freely available so it was a rare and treasured treat. If you told somebody you were going to make a cake with courgettes, they’d give you a very strange look, shake their head and wander off wondering. Continue reading »

Tomorrow marks the first day of September. This coming weekend is Labor Day weekend, and the weather is beginning to change for fall. Celebrate by making an apple themed dish or dessert, and feel the glorious changes nature has brought us! Keep reading for the recipes!
There are great meal entrees that you can make with apples. Continue reading »

There are several types of vessels in which the fermentation process can take place. Anything from a small plastic bucket in someones home, to old oak barrels or massive temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. It’s all being done. Here is some more wine-speak around turning juice into wine. (Click here to view part one)
Stainless steel tanks
Most modern wines are today fermented in stainless steel tanks. They certainly have their advantages. Continue reading »

My summer hols took me to Argentina for most of August. The main things on the agenda were the Iguazu Falls (spectacular), beef (spectacular) and Malbec (surprisingly unspectacular, at least at the price bracket I was drinking). Of course I managed to squeeze in a beer or two as well: I know you’d have been disappointed if I didn’t have a post for you about South American suds. Turns out I have about five of them. You lucky people. Continue reading »

Last week I went to visit a local cheesemaker, Peter Thomas, who makes the award-winning Bellingham Blue cheese. He also has a big garden and the beginnings of a small orchard, and after admiring all the fruit, he promptly pulled up more rhubarb than I could carry and sent his daughter out to pick a big bowlful of plums and apples to send home with me. With such unexpected bounty (not to mention half of wheel of cheese!), I pulled out this old favorite for dinner. Continue reading »

Last week the American wine entrepreneur and one of the pioneers of video blogging, Gary Vaynerchuk, announced his retirement from regular wine video content after an amazing run which spanned more than half a decade. He explains in the attached video why he’s made the decision he has.

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Vaynerchuk has been described as the first wine guru of the YouTube era, and is considered the most influential wine critic in the United States after Robert Parker. Continue reading »

My neighbour, Dave (Cheers man) has been dropping off some lovely tomatoes grown with his very own green thumbs in his very own garden recently. As much as I love these puppies I just couldn’t eat them fast enough before they might take a turn so being the Irishman I am I made pasta sauce…obviously. The beauty about making a sauce like this with in season tomatoes is I can freeze the sauce and have lovely fresh tasting tomato sauce later in the year. Beautious. Continue reading »

We were due to depart from the USA on Sunday, but our flights were cancelled due to Hurricane Irene so we are now scheduled to leave on this coming Sunday the 4th. In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to share some cherry-licious photos from our tour of Door County last week.
Even though it’s late in the season, the trees at Hyland Orchard still had pretty + tart Montgomery cherries ready to be picked by curious little hands. Continue reading »

It’s that time of the year again’ the Blue Fin Tuna are passing by our shores again a little earlier than last year, I got a phone call late last night saying there was a boat landing early in the morning in Castletownshend with a large Tuna on board so of course I said yes as it is great to welcome them back and as we only have them for a few weeks each year it is a great treat, and an honour to have fish like this on our shores. Continue reading »

“One day, the sea will recover the land and will
stop at the Stèle (stone marker) of Mas de la Dame. So spoke Nostradamus.

The sea could well one day sweep up the flatlands
of the Camargue and head for the historic farmhouse (mas) of la Dame. So I
thought I’d help myself to some of their organic wine this summer during my
hols in Provence. Continue reading »

Read all about the products we’ve tested so that you don’t have to! There is a variety of snacks that are good for the on-the-go woman or that can even be used for a quick breakfast. Some of these products will be included in upcoming giveaways!
Wheat Thins Stix are a new product that is easy to pack for a snack and also incredibly tasty! The Chipotle Pepper variety had a big kick that kept me going in the afternoon. Continue reading »

Megan is a professional photographer who lives in Dublin, Ireland, with her husband James. You can check out her beautifully illustrated blog Veggies and Me for lots of delicious vegetarian ideas… Megan has a fresh and delicious little vegetarian menu which she has kindly shared here!

My name is Megan… I have been cooking since I can remember and a vegetarian almost as long. One side of my family is into photography and the other side is into food. Continue reading »

Sponsored Posts

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Every cook we know loves their iPad (or lusts after one) for clipping, reading and cooking from online recipes right in the kitchen. Well, Clickcase.ie has what may be the ultimate kitchen gadget for iPad lovers: the Speck Handyshell slots around your iPad 2 so it can be hung from any rack, drawer or cabinet knob, keeping your iPad at eye level and safe from spills and mess. Genius!

Clickcase, Irish retailer of brilliant iPad and iPhone accessories, is giving one crimble red Handyshell away to a FoodFight.ie reader just in time for Christmas. To enter, all you have to do is head over to the Clickcase Facebook page before December 8th and tell us why you love your iPad or iPhone in the kitchen!

This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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